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Best of Northern Santa Barbara County 2021
This just in: the Sun’s annual Northern Santa Barbara County Best of reader’s poll results! We asked and you answered. You told us who and what your favorites were, and we tabulated and compiled all the results that were fit to print, packaged them up for you, and delivered! Find out the community’s favorite restaurants,…
Farm Day lets locals get a peek behind the scenes to learn how food gets from the farm to the produce aisle
The COVID-19 pandemic, characterized by empty shelves and grocery store lines that wrapped around the block, ushered in a new wave of curiosity about food supply chains and how they operate. This year, locals can learn a little more about the hands that feed them at the third annual Santa Barbara County Farm Day. “During…
The Great American Melodrama returns with ‘Comedy Tonight,’ an original musical revue filled with song, dance, puns, and parodies
How did you get through the pandemic? Did you have technologically fraught Zoom calls with half-dressed spouses walking in the background and computers frozen and glitchy? Did you find yourself under the thumb of your employer’s “IT guy” when things went wrong during remote work? Was your pivot to buying things online rife with difficulties…
NatureTrack Film Festival announces dates for in-person and virtual screenings
The NatureTrack Foundation recently announced the dates slated for its fourth annual NatureTrack Film Festival, which will feature both in-person and virtual screenings. The in-person event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 16, with several screenings taking place between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m, at St. Mark’s In-The-Valley Episcopal Church in Los Olivos. The festival’s…
Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez hosts upcoming stand-up comedy event, Laugh Therapy
On Wednesday, Aug. 25, UnPaquito Productions presents Laugh Therapy, from 8 to 10 p.m. (doors open at 7:30 p.m.), at the Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez. This stand-up comedy event features a lineup of several comics, led by host Paco Zamora, assembled to “remind us how therapeutic a good giggle can be,” according to press…
Santa Maria Civic Theatre presents ‘The Show Will Go On: Behind Closed Doors’
A cast of seven actors will perform as more than 35 different characters during The Show Will Go On: Behind Closed Doors, an upcoming production at the Santa Maria Civic Theatre. Performances will be held during one weekend only, Friday, Aug. 27, through Sunday, Aug. 29. This original production is described as an anthology of…
Fed up
Ground squirrels closed down Beattie Park’s asphalt-covered parking lot in Lompoc. Those ferocious little demons have burrowed and tunneled beneath that hard surface so much, holes are starting to appear. And why did they choose that lot, you ask? Well, turns out, people are feeding them. Feeding them! As if they can’t feed themselves—as if…
Keep California blue and vote no now in the Gov. Gavin Newsom recall election
The Republican party is attempting to overturn democracy yet again, this time in California. Trump allies, conspiracy theorists, and anti-vaxxers are counting on low turnout among Democrats, Independents, and progressives to pull off their scheme to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom with a right-wing Republican. The stakes are high: Our governor has the power to appoint…
County schools are eager to bring their students safely back on campus for the new academic year
As school begins and routines shift from summer to school mode, students, staff, and families adjust in multiple ways to help launch the year successfully. Children and family members learn bus schedules, sort out carpools, reset morning alarms, and excitedly wait to see which friends are in their classes. Teachers and staff reunite at schools…
GATO365 makes statistics and math accessible to students in elementary to high school
Math didn’t come easily to Immanuel Williams, who now teaches math boot camps and a computer science academy for students through his company, the GATO365 Learning Center. The Cal Poly statistics lecturer’s story begins with him “not being particularly good at mathematics” in elementary school, he said. Williams received poor marks in math, and his…
Political Watch: August 19, 2021
• Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Aug. 11 that the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a new public health order requiring all school staff to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or get tested once a week. “To give parents confidence that their children are safe as schools return to full, in-person learning,…
Lompoc proposes wildlife feeding prohibition due to ground squirrel problems
The ground squirrel problem at Beattie Park in Lompoc is so bad that the city Parks and Recreation Department had to close the parking lot because “the integrity of the asphalt has been compromised,” according to a city staff report. “There’s hundreds,” Parks and Recreation Manager Mario Guerrero said of the ground squirrels. “The problem…
Ocean floor wine company withdraws permit application amid Coastal Act violations
Ocean Fathoms, a Santa Barbara County-based company that wants to store wine on the ocean floor, withdrew its permit application from the Coastal Commission, which was set to discuss the matter at its Aug. 12 meeting. The company was seeking after-the-fact authorization because it implemented its underwater wine storage system without a permit. The Coastal…
Santa Barbara County releases ExxonMobil oil trucking project EIR
Almost as soon as Santa Barbara County made the final supplemental environmental impact report (EIR) available for ExxonMobil’s proposal to truck oil along highways 101 and 166, environmental advocates were ready with a response. “ExxonMobil wants to put California communities and motorists in harm’s way, just to restart its dirty and dangerous offshore platforms,” Center…
Solvang residents speak up at redistricting workshop
Locals made their voices heard at an Aug. 12 redistricting public workshop held in Solvang, where redistricting commissioners and community members met to exchange thoughts about the once-a-decade process that will now be guided by recently released census data. “Every 10 years, the county has to redistrict, based on the most recent census data,” Daniel…
